Harlequin
by Madison Barton-Maximoff
Summary: Spencer Reid has not seen Lily "Harley" Dyer since Gideon left the BAU. It's been close to a decade in fact. So how will he react when an Unsub abducts her and sends videos to the BAU taunting them; specifically him.
1. Chapter 1

Harlequin

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

"Guys, we have a case. Conference room, now", Hotch said.

Everyone filed into the room and JJ shut the door.

She said nothing as the screen came on.

A shadowy figure popped up. "Hello members of the BAU. I'd like to start this video off with a little riddle. What starts with "e" ends with "e", and contains one letter? I assume Dr. Reid knows the answer to this".

"An envelope", he answered.

"I've left you an envelope. It contains a clue as to what you're looking for".

JJ handed the envelope to Spencer.

He opened it and pulled out a necklace with a Harlequin diamond on it. Spencer looked up at the video.

"That's correct Dr. Reid". He turned the camera and there sat Harley, pigtails and all, tied to a chair. "Better hurry Dr. Reid. Your doll doesn't have much time", he said before the video cut off.

Reid stood up from the table, rage boiling in his veins. He wanted to punch a wall or scream, but didn't.

"Reid?" Morgan asked.

He stormed out of the conference room.

"Reid, we need to stay level headed here", Morgan told him.

"That son of a bitch has Harley!" he yelled. No one had heard Reid use that kind of language. "Morgan…it's happening all over again", he said.

"I am not gonna let you lose Harley. I promise", Morgan said.

The rest of the team came out of the conference room.

"Reid, Morgan, you two go to Harley's apartment. Rossi and I will go visit her parents. JJ and Emily, go to the last place she was spotted. Garcia, I need addresses", Hotch said.

"Okay, there's an apartment listed under her birth name Lily Dyer…here in Quantico. She came back right after Gideon's death. Her parents live in Richmond and I don't know where she was last seen, but there's a text to Stephen".

"Gideon's son?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, sir", she said.

"Okay guys, let's go", Hotch said.

* * *

As Spencer and Morgan drove to Harley's apartment, Spencer ran his fingers over her necklace remembering the first time they met.

 _Spencer looked up at her._ _"You like to be called Harley because of Harley Quinn, correct?" he asked her._

 _"Who are you, Sherlock Holmes?" she sneered._

 _"You have blonde hair put up in pigtails, obviously not your natural hair color. Someone with features like yours most likely has a darker hair color. Harlequin diamond necklace. Another ode to Harley Quinn. You're also blowing and popping your gum rather loudly", he said._

They arrived to her apartment.

"You sure you wanna do this, kid?" Morgan asked him.

Spencer nodded.

They made their way up to her apartment.

When Morgan opened the door, Spencer immediately felt at home.

There was her Harley Quinn blanket on her couch, her pop Funko's sitting in front her DVD's, including the one she had hand painted in his likeness.

 _"They should make some of you guys", she said._

 _Spencer gave her a look._

 _"What? They make them of real people now. It would have your long hair…" Her fingers came up to run through the hair on the back of his neck. "My favorite red cardigan…" She ran her fingers down his chest. "Your messenger bag and of course those adorable glasses of yours", she said winking._

"Reid? You okay?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah", he said. He put on his rubber gloves and walked to her room.

It was in her normal disarray. "Organized chaos", she called it.

Spencer remembered that it used to drive him crazy.

Something caught his eyes.

On her nightstand, it was a framed picture of them together.

"She clearly still cares for you", Morgan said.

"She loved Gideon more than she loved me", Spencer said putting the picture down.

"Gideon was her only family", Morgan said.

Spencer walked over to her closet and he smiled when he saw a replica of his red cardigan. He took it off the hanger and held it up to his nose, taking in her familiar smell. "It's her favorite, you know?" Spencer said. Tears filled his eyes as Spencer finally allowed himself to break down.

Morgan could do nothing but watch.

* * *

 **Any theories on who took her? What do you guys think of it so far?**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

Rossi and Hotch arrived at Harley's parent's house.

It was a large plantation style with a sizable front yard littered with rose bushes.

"Wow. So she comes from money", Rossi said.

"Yeah, but you'd never know by looking at her", Hotch told him.

They walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

An older woman with dark hair answered the door.

 _"Looks like you were right, Blondie", Morgan said._

 _"Ha! Jokes on you! I'm not even a real blonde!" Harley said._

A ghost of a smile appeared on Hotch's face at that memory. "I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner and this is Agent David Rossi. We're with the FBI", he said.

"Where's the other one? Agent Gideon?" her mother asked.

"He…passed away a few years ago", Hotch told her.

"Oh, well forgive me. There was no love lost there. What exactly is this about if I may ask?"

"Mrs. Dyer, we'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter, Harley", Rossi said.

"Lily. Her name is Lily", Mrs. Dyer said, "I always hated that she called herself after that ridiculous comic book character".

"May we come inside?" Hotch asked.

They sat down in the living room. It looked like it had come out of a home catalogue. It was devoid of any personal touches.

"Mrs. Dyer, when was the last time you spoke to your daughter?" Hotch asked.

"Shortly after my husband's murder", she said, "That's how she met Agent Gideon".

* * *

 _Monica Dyer entered her home, her cell phone clutched between her shoulder and her ear. "Yes, I understand. What I don't understand is…"_

 _The house was unusually quiet._

 _"Hey Donna, I'll call you back", she said, "Richard! Lily!" She walked into the living room and screamed._

 _There was her 15 year old daughter, covered in blood, standing next to her father's dead body._

 _Monica ran forward and grabbed her daughter's arm. "What did you do?!" she yelled._

 _Lily said nothing._

 _Monica growled and roughly let go her arm, throwing her daughter to the blood soaked carpet. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911._

 _An ambulance and the authorities soon arrived._

 _Lily and her mother were separated and taken for questioning. Lily sat in the interrogation room, her legs pulled up to her chest in the chair._

 _A man entered the room and put a blanket around her shoulders and sat in front of her. "Hi Lily. My name's Jason Gideon, can you tell me what happened tonight?" he said._

 _She looked up at him, still covered in her father's blood. "I was at the mall with my friends", she said, "I came home and found him"._

 _"Why didn't you call the police?" he asked._

 _She scoffed. "I know how the justice system works. You always look at the people closest to the victim first", she said, "I'M the one who found him. I'M the one covered in his blood"._

 _"I don't think you did this", Jason said._

 _"You…you don't?" she asked him._

 _"No. I think you're just a scared young girl who found her father dead and did everything you could to save him", he said. He pulled out his wallet and handed her a business card. "You can call me whenever you'd like to. I'd be willing to listen to any concerns you have", he said._

 _Lily smiled. "Thank you", she said._

* * *

"I always knew that when she disappeared, she was with him. Despite what they wanted you to believe, Lily isn't his actual niece. She emancipated herself when she was 16 and then ran off with him. Personally I think there was something more going on".

"Mrs. Dyer, your daughter was abducted yesterday. Do you have any idea who may have taken her?" Rossi asked.

"Abducted? No. She probably just ran off. She has a propensity to do that", she said.

"Do you mind if we take a look at her things? Maybe something can give us a clue as to who took her", Hotch said.

"Her things? I threw them all out when she ran off. That girl stopped being my daughter the moment she met Jason Gideon. Now, if all your questions are answered, I'd like for you to leave". She walked them to the door and then slammed the door behind them.

"Jesus. I can understand why Harley would want to get away from that woman", Rossi said.

Hotch just stood next to the SUV.

"Aaron? What is it?" Rossi asked him.

"I had no idea her father was murdered. Turns out we don't know that much about her as I thought", he said. He pulled out his cell phone. "Garcia, I need you to do a deep, thorough search on Harley", he said.

"But…but sir…" she stuttered, "You know how I feel about things like that".

"I know, but maybe if we know more about her it might help find her", he said.

"Right away, sir".

* * *

 **JJ and Emily go talk to Stephen next. What do you think will happen? What else do you think the team will find out about Harley?**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

Emily and JJ walked up to Stephen's door.

"Agent Jareau", he said.

"This is Agent Emily Prentiss", JJ said.

"What going on?" Stephen asked.

"May we come inside?" Emily asked.

They sat down in the living room.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?" he asked.

Emily and JJ shared a look.

"Harley was abducted yesterday. According to her phone, you were the last person she contacted", Emily said.

"Yeah, we were going to meet for lunch", he said, "We do it every Sunday. I figured something came up".

"Do you have any idea who would want to harm her?" JJ asked.

"No", he said.

The two women noticed tears gathering in his eyes.

"I told him I would protect her", he said, "He told me that if anything should happen to him that I was supposed to look out for her. He treated her like his own daughter".

"Is there anything you can think of that might help us find her?" Emily said.

"There was something in the will", Stephen said. He got up and came back with a small SD card. "He said that if anything should happen to her, I should hand that over to you", he said, "It said that that would help you find her".

"Have you tried looking on it?" Emily asked.

"No. I never thought about it until now".

"Thank you", JJ said.

The two left.

"We need to get this to Garcia", JJ said.

"I'll call Reid and Morgan", Emily said.

* * *

Morgan's phone started ringing. "Hey", he said.

"How is he?" Emily asked.

"Well, considering he's sitting on her bedroom floor with her favorite blanket, I'd say not good", he told her.

"Okay, well Stephen said that she was going to meet him for Sunday lunch and never showed up", she said.

"I don't see any keys or a purse anywhere", Morgan said.

"That means whoever took her surprised her at her car. See if you can find anything", Emily said.

"Roger that", Morgan said and hung up. He walked into Harley's bedroom. "Reid, Emily thinks her abductor surprised her at her car. Where's Harley's car?" he asked.

Spencer stood up. "In the basement. There's a parking garage under this building", he said.

The two of them made their way down into the basement, Spencer looking around for the familiar black 2009 Dodge Challenger.

 _"Why do you drive this monster?" Spencer asked._

 _"Because I'm a small person. Therefore I need a big car to make people get out of my way", she told him, "And it kinda reminds me of the Batmobile"._

He finally found it. "Her purse is on the ground and so is her phone", Spencer said. He picked it up and opened it. He noticed that her phone background hadn't changed.

It was still the picture of them dressed like up the Joker and Harley Quinn for Halloween.

 _Hey, I'm just leaving. See you in a few._

"She was on her way to meet Stephen when he snatched her", Morgan said.

"Which means he's been watching her", Spencer said.

Morgan's phone buzzed. "JJ and Emily said Stephen gave them an SD card. They think it could help us find her. Garcia's waiting for us", he said.

Reid knelt down on the ground and gathered Harley's things and put them back in her purse.

It, of course, was a Harley Quinn purse.

He remembered seeing it in a Hot Topic window a few weeks back and it made him think of her.

Reid and Morgan got back in the SUV and drove back to HQ.

They entered the BAU to find the team waiting for them.

"What? What happened?" Morgan asked.

"He sent in another video. But beware, this one is pretty brutal", JJ told them.

* * *

 **We're getting closer to finding out who took Harley!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

"I must say Dr. Reid, you have quite a feisty little doll", the man said.

"You're going to fry for this!" Harley spat.

The man smacked her across the face.

Spencer winced, along with the whole team.

"Go ahead! Beat me! I don't care!" she taunted, spitting in his face.

This time, he man punched her, blood flowing from her nose.

Harley whimpered.

The man pulled her head up and said, "Anything you'd like to say to your darling Dr. Reid?"

"Go to hell you bastard!" she yelled at him before the video cut off.

"Hotch, if we don't find her soon, he's gonna kill her", Morgan said.

"He's obviously trying to break her spirit", Emily said.

"She won't break", Spencer said, "Gideon would have taught her not to under any circumstances".

"Garcia, are there any security cameras in Harley's parking garage?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, there's one down from her car", she said. She brought up the security footage.

Harley walked out to her car, looking down at her phone. She was reaching into her bag for her keys when the Unsub grabbed her.

He put her in a chokehold.

Harley struggled for a little while before eventually going limp.

"You can't get a better view?" Hotch asked.

"I'm sorry sir", she said.

"How are we gonna find her?" Spencer asked.

"When we were at Stephen's, he gave us this", JJ said, holding up the SD card, "He said Gideon left it to him".

Garcia plugged it into her laptop and clicked on the file with Harley's name.

A video came up.

"Oh my god. It's Gideon", she said.

"Hi Garcia", he said, "If you're watching this, it means I'm gone. It also means Harley's missing. I know that if anyone can find her, it's you and the team. For Harley's 21st birthday, I bought her a silver ankle bracelet. Hidden in this bracelet is a tracking device".

A program appeared on Garcia's screen.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, I can track her", she said.

"Text us the coordinates", Hotch said as everyone jumped into action.

* * *

When they arrived at the warehouse, Spencer threw on his vest and pulled out his weapon.

"Hey, you gonna be okay? I can't have you storming in there guns blazing", Morgan said.

"I'll be fine as soon as I know Harley's okay", he said.

Morgan and the team walked up to the door of the abandoned warehouse. Morgan kicked the door in and they entered. "FBI!" Morgan yelled.

When they rounded the corner, they saw Harley being held with a knife to her neck.

"Come any closer and I'll slit her throat", the Unsub threatened. The Unsub had his hood up, but from what the team could see, his face was deformed.

"C'mon. You don't have to do this. Put the knife down and let her go", Morgan said.

"No. They both have to pay", he said.

Spencer couldn't take his eyes off Harley.

Harley suddenly slammed her foot down onto the Unsub's and threw her elbow back into his abdomen. She cried out as the knife that was on her neck sliced into her arm. When the Unsub let go of her, she rolled and grabbed both Spencer and Morgan's second weapons. She cocked the guns and said, "Jokes on you".

"On the ground!" Morgan yelled.

Spencer lowered his gun and stroked Harley's head.

She smiled up at him before her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Lily!" he yelled, dropping to his knees. "No, no, no. Lily. C'mon baby, open your eyes. Look at me".

Harley's eyes fluttered open.

"There you go", Spencer said, "Just keep those eyes open for me".

"We need medical", Emily said into her com.

"Spence", Harley said.

Spencer pulled her into his lap and held her close to his chest. "It's okay baby. I'm here and help is on the way", he told her.

"I never wanted to leave you", she said.

"I know you didn't", he soothed her, "I know you didn't".

"You're scruffier than I remember", she said placing her hand on his jaw, "You've grown up".

"So have you", he told her.

"I'm so tired Spencer", Harley said, her eyes fluttering.

"Hey, hey, keep your eyes open", he told her.

The medics finally arrived and loaded Harley onto a stretcher.

"I'm sorry. Family only", the EMT said.

"But…!" Spencer protested.

"Hey, pretty boy, calm down. We'll follow the ambulance", Morgan told him.

* * *

 **They caught the Unsub! Now who is it?**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

Spencer and Morgan arrived at the hospital and found the others waiting in the lobby.

"They haven't told us anything yet", JJ said.

Spencer took a seat next to her as they waited.

Half an hour later, a doctor came out.

"Family of Lily Dyer?"

The team stood up.

"Yes", Spencer said.

"Well, Miss Dyer only suffered minor injuries. She's very dehydrated, but we've got her on fluids. The laceration to her arm has been cleaned and bandaged and the abrasions on her face, wrists, and ankles should fade with time".

"Thank you Doctor", Hotch said.

"You can see her if you want", the doctor said.

"You'd better go first, kid", Morgan told Spencer.

Spencer nodded. He walked down to the hall to her room. She looked so small lying in the hospital bed. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and waited for her to open her eyes.

* * *

Everything was quiet.

That was the first thing Harley noticed when she came to. Harley opened her eyes and smiled when she saw a familiar head of floppy brown hair.

Spencer smiled. "Hey, you're awake", he said standing up. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead as one of his hands settled on her cheek.

Harley tilted her head up and pressed her lips to Spencer's.

"You have no idea how much I missed you", Spencer told her.

Harley smiled and said, "Tell me a riddle".

"I can be blind, I can be powerful, I can be difficult, deep, complicated, and tender at the same time. What am I?"

"Love", Harley whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay", Spencer told her softly.

"I was so scared Spence".

"You were so brace".

"It was our first Unsub".

"What?"

"The first case we worked on. It was him. That's what he meant by 'They both have to pay".

"Shhh, he's going away for good this time. I promise. He'll never be able to hurt you again".

"We both know that isn't true", she said softly.

"Shh, don't think about that right now".

After a few minutes, Harley felt well enough to see the rest of the team.

Garcia was first. "Oh my god!" she screamed and hugged Harley, "We were so worried".

"Baby Girl, let her go before you suffocate her", Morgan said.

"It's good to see you again, Harley", Hotch said.

That name triggered something inside her. "Don't call me that!" she snapped.

The room went silent.

"That's not my name. That's not who I am", she said.

It was then that the team realized that the Unsub had done what he set out to do. He had broken her.

"Okay. I think it's time for Miss Dyer to get some rest", her doctor said.

The team nodded.

"Har…Lily, if you could…come back to the BAU and answer some questions when you're feeling up to it, we'd appreciate it", Emily said.

Harley only nodded.

"Miss Dyer can leave first thing in the morning after rounds. I'll have the paperwork drawn up tonight, but she'll need to stay with someone for a few days", her doctor said.

"I'll look after her", Spencer said.

The doctor nodded and said, "I'll give you guys a few moments to say goodbye".

Garcia patted Harley on the leg and smiled.

"Thank you guys for finding me", she told them.

"You're family. That's what families do", Hotch said.

The team left, but Spencer stayed behind for a few minutes. He finally kissed her forehead and said, "I'll see you later, okay?"

Harley looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Okay", she said. She didn't want to let go of him.

"It'll be okay. I'll be back first thing in the morning. I promise", he said, "I'll need to drop by your apartment and get you some clothes".

"First thing tomorrow?"

Spencer chuckled and said, "At first light if you want. Just go to sleep. I'll be back before you know it".

"Spence…I…I love you".

"I love you too, darling". Spencer helped her get comfortable and pecked her on the lips before leaving.

Harley closed her eyes and hoped against nightmares.

* * *

 **So we finally know who her kidnapper was. Soon we will see Harley's point of view of everything that happened.**

 **Also, I've got a idea for a new Spencer fic. So basically the girl is a Mob Boss based in New Orleans and the BAU are called in to help capture her after several people associated with her crime ring turn up dead. Long story short, she ends up kidnapping Spence and sparks fly from there. Interested?**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **I do not own Criminal Minds in any way.**

* * *

Spencer kept his word and came first thing in the morning to sign Harley's discharge papers.

"Could…could you help me get dressed?" Harley asked him.

Spencer had never seen her so meek. "Yeah. Of course", he said.

It took a little longer than usual, but Harley's arms and legs hurt from being tied to a chair for the past few days.

They went out to Spencer's car and Harley laughed.

"You still drive this thing?" she asked.

"Don't hate on the car", he said.

They soon arrived at Spencer's apartment and Harley could see that not much had changed.

There was a picture of a woman with auburn hair on the wall.

"Who's she?" Harley asked.

"Um…that's Meave. I fell in love with her. I watched her die in front of me".

"Oh, I'm sorry".

"It's why I was so worried about you. I didn't want to have to watch another woman I loved die in front of me. C'mon, let's get you cleaned up". He led her into the bathroom where he ran her a bath. He helped her get undressed and then helped her to wash her hair, being careful of the cut on her arm.

Harley shuddered as she watched the bath water turn pink.

"There, all clean", he said and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Spence".

"I love you", was all he said.

Spencer cleaned up too and then joined Harley where she sat on the bed. Spencer reached into Harley's bag and pulled out her ankle bracelet. "They took it off you at the hospital. I figured you'd want it back", he said.

Harley smiled. "Gideon gave it to me", she said.

"It helped us find you. Gideon had a tracking chip put in it. Garcia was able to locate where he was holding you".

"I miss Gideon", Harley said, tears filling her eyes.

"I know. I do too".

"I read about his death, but I never visited his grave", she said and started to cry.

Spencer took her in his arms as the emotions came pouring out.

She mourned the loss of the most amazing man she had ever known and who had ultimately saved her life.

* * *

Later, when Harley awoke from her nap, Spencer was standing next to the bed fully dressed. "The team would like to talk to you", he said.

Harley nodded and got dressed.

Reid draped her favorite cardigan around her shoulders as they set off for the FBI building.

They walked into the BAU where Harley saw a familiar face.

"Stephen? Stephen!" she yelled, running into his arms.

He embrace her and held her close to him. "I was so worried about you", he told her, stroking the back of her head.

She pulled back from him.

"Oh my god. What did he do to you?" he asked her, looking at the various bruises on her face.

"Stephen, I'm fine".

"No, you're not! I promised dad I would keep you safe and I obviously failed at that".

"Stephen, there's no way you could've known that I was going to be kidnapped".

"I should've come and got you or something".

"Stephen, stop. Don't do that to yourself. It's okay. I'm okay. The bruises will fade".

"But the scars won't", he said so softly that she almost didn't hear him.

The team and Spencer finally understood the relationship between Harley and Stephen. It was a brother and sister bond. The two had bonded over the fact that both of them had lost the same thing. A father.

Harley's to a senseless murder and Stephen's to the same job that saved Harley's life.

Spencer knew that when Harley's father died, Gideon stepped up and became the father figure she needed.

"Are you ready to answer some questions?" Rossi asked.

Harley looked at Spencer. "I'm scared. I don't want to relive it", she told him.

"Stephen and I will be there the whole time", he reassured her.

They led her to the conference room and shut the door.

Emily was sitting in front of her, while Spencer sat next to her.

Stephen was standing by the windows, wanting to give her space.

"Now, what's the first thing you remember?" Emily asked her.

* * *

 **We finally get to see Harley's side of things in the next chapter. Then I'll probably be wrapping this story up soon.**


End file.
